Bill Nye, the Science Guy, is helping Verizon to encourage students nationwide to join the Verizon Innovative App Challenge - the no-coding-skills-needed contest that gives middle and high school students a chance to bring their problem-solving app ideas to life.

For the first time, the App Challenge will be open to teams representing non-profit organizations in addition to schools, and even more students will earn free tablets and cash awards for the groups they represent. The deadline for submission is Nov. 24, and the winners will be named in January 2016.